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March 15, 2022

Yale biz school’s ‘Russia list’ draws international attention, spotlights Subway

PHOTO | Contributed Yale School of Management
By Liese Klein

A Yale business school professor’s list of companies taking action in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has drawn hundreds of media queries and attracted international attention, the school said this week.

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a professor of management and senior associate dean at the Yale School of Management, tasked a team to compile a public list of corporations taking action on Russia on February 28, four days after the invasion.

The list started with a few dozen companies but quickly grew to 380 as of Tuesday, according to the school’s website. 

Attracting attention from both national and international media, the list has prompted companies to suspend operations in Russia or pull out of the country completely, according to media reports. 

Sonnenfeld has long advocated for corporations to take action on social issues, but the Russia list has drawn unprecedented support, he told the Washington Post. 

“What these lists do is give courageous CEOs the confidence to keep going, and the wannabe courageous ones the reinforcements to deal with their boards so they come off as responsible business leaders when they can see a stampede of their peers leaving Russia,” Sonnenfeld told the Post. 

The list is downloadable and currently consists of companies ranging from Adobe to Anheuser-Busch to New Britain-based Stanley Black & Decker. 

Subway makes ‘Remain in Russia’ list

PHOTO | New Haven BIZ
The soon-to-be-former world headquarters of Subway at 325 Sub Way in Milford.

One prominent Connecticut company, Subway, made an alternate list compiled by Yale: “Companies that Remain in Russia.” The Milford-based sandwich chain has 446 independent franchised locations in Russia, according to the list. 

Subway issued a statement last week saying it had no corporate operations in Russia and limited control over its restaurants in the country, which are managed under “an independent master franchisee.”

“While we do not control or manage the operations of independent franchisees in Russia, we will redirect any profits from operations in Russia to humanitarian efforts supporting Ukrainians who have been affected by the war. We are also working with our franchisees across Europe to provide meals to refugees,” the statement read. 

Contact Liese Klein at lklein@newhavenbiz.com.

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